No. 9. Philadelphia Agricultural Society — Its Premiums. 



271 



Society devotes a large portion of its premi- 

 ums to what " it is pleased to term the im- 

 proved bleed of cattle ;" and without affirm 

 ing or denying that these are the Durhams 

 " par excellence," let ns for a moment turn 

 to the facts of the case, and see wliethor 

 they have overstepped the limits of pru 

 dence, and bestowed more attention on im- 

 proved breeds than they merit. Had Mr 

 I. U. examined with attention the long lists 

 of premiums which the Society annually 

 presents to the public, he would have found 

 that it otlers premiums for other improved 

 breeds to a flir greater extent, in proportion 

 to their numbers, than for Durhams, and 

 also makes liberal provision for native stock. 

 If your correspondent had been an attentive 

 observer of their proceedings, he would have 

 seen that almost every animal of the cow 

 kind, other than Durham, that was not an 

 absolute scrub, has been awarded a premi- 

 um, while the great number of Durhams on 

 the ground create active competition, and 

 exclude many fine animals from obtaining 

 premiums. I would ask why are not more 

 native cattle exhibited? the Society would 

 gladly distribute rewards for all that merit 

 them. But the answer is obvious — our farm- 

 ers have too much self-respect and sense of 

 propriety to exhibit such native animals as 

 grace their barn yards ! And have the 

 exertions of the Philadelphia Agricultural 

 Society been of no avail in improving the 

 breeds of cattle? A few years since the 

 only handsome stock known here, were a 

 few remains of Col. Powel's importation 

 and the caltle driven from New England. 

 Now, maugre the assertion of Mr. U., there 

 are many dairies in the vicinity of Philadel- 

 phia, largely intermixed with Durhams and 

 other improved breeds, of which allow me 

 the liberty of naming: — Henry Chorley, 

 Samuel Rogers, William Warner Roberts, 

 George Martin, R. T. Potts, William Robin- 

 son, Garret Williamson, and George W. 

 Blight, besides the more extensive breeders, 

 Dennis Kelly, I. W. Roberts, and James 

 Gowen. Several of these gentlemen have 

 large milk and butter dairies, and they pre- 

 fer the improved stock, not only because 

 their yield is greater, but also because they 

 mature earlier, and are far more valuable 

 when turned off to the butcher. 



These gentlemen, and many others who 

 take an interest in the Society, are so tho- 

 roughly convinced of the advantage of good 

 stock, that they raise their own to a consi- 

 derable extent; but I apprehend few of them 

 even dream of training up a mountain runt 

 to usefulness and profit, in this latitude. 



What has been the yield of Mr. Gowen's 

 young stock as milkers, I am not particu- 



larly informed; but I do know that the gene- 

 ral result of his dairy is encouraging, and 

 the unkind fling at his readiness to " inform 

 the agricultural community," might well 

 have been spared. Would that farmers 

 generally possessed a tithe of his readiness 

 to impart information to their co-labourers! 

 Mr. Chorley and others known to the writer, 

 have been entirely successful in raising Dur- 

 hams for tiio pail and the shambles. Can 

 this be said of an individual among the thou- 

 sands who depasture their fields with " na- 

 tive animals of unimproved breeds?" 



That this and most other societies_fail to 

 interest and excite the farmers to active and 

 ambitious zeal, is a melancholy fact; a farmer 

 myself, and brought up among them, I can 

 speak with freedom of their failings. It is 

 no easy matter to conquer their apathy and 

 indifference, — I had almost said selfishness; 

 yet this Society, by the well directed energy 

 and perseverance of a few, has accomplished 

 much, and I hope will continue its laudable 

 exertions. Repeated efforts have been used 

 to induce the exhibition of agricultural im- 

 plements and the productions of the soil. 

 More discretionary premiums have been 

 awarded to these, than to any other branches 

 of the exhibitions, and a general disposition 

 is and has been evinced to increase the dis- 

 play of both implements and the produce of 

 farms. 



Having dealt thus freely with your cor- 

 respondent's advice, let me give him and 

 his brother farmers a little in return — "Take 

 the plough by the handle," that is, become 

 members of the Society; attend its meet- 

 ings, and lend a helping hand to " make all 

 its furrows clean :" — I confidently engage 

 that every worthy tiller of the soil will be 

 welcomed within its walls, 



A. S. R. 



Philadelphia, March 2Cth, 1846. 



Yes— we would say, take the plough by the handle — 

 join the Society, and if its movements are not the best 

 they might be, lend a helping hand to put them so : — if 

 too large a proportion of its premiums are devoted to 

 one branch of the farming interest, have the matter 

 rectified. If the Society places too high a value upon 

 Durhams, or upon any other breed of cattle, we would 

 say to I. U., and others, produce your natives, and let 

 them speak for themselves on the ground, or through 

 the still more irresistible evidences of the pail. Facts 

 are like straight lines, they sometimes lead where you 

 do not wish to go. It would require no small amount 

 of hard writing to prove that the introduction of Dur- 

 ham and other improved breeds, has not vastly bene- 

 fited the country. — Ed. 



When things tire you at the head, take 

 them by the tail. 



